Buck Showalter on Earl Weaver: 'I look at the No. 4 in the dugout every day'

"I’m so thankful for the time I had with him. Spring training last year, especially, we had him down speaking, basically having a classroom with our coaches and managers and minor leagues and everything. Riding around a cart talking about baseball and listening to him. We went through a drill and he said ‘Ah, we were doing that 40 years ago. You’ve guys just got more fungoes and more coaches and maybe different machines, but we’re all trying to accomplish the same things.’ He gave me his time, and that’s the most important thing.

"I think everybody’s just trying to collect their thoughts. He meant so much to so many people, there’s a reason why they call him the Earl of Baltimore. There was a real connection with the way he went about his business.”

“It took me so long to get to the point where I could get to the point where I could call him Earl instead of Mr. Weaver. He wasn’t too happy about that for a long time.”

“I look back at so many things that happened this year, with the statues and with Earl, and it really makes you realize sometimes that you really don’t have control over what’s going to happen, which is obvious to everybody here. I’m so glad we honored him again and obviously we are still trying to get our arms around the different ways we can honor Earl’s memory. I look at the No. 4 [plaque] in the dugout every day. I kind of look at it and sometimes I rub it when we need an extra out or a big hit.”